Dual relative pronouns (اللذان / اللتان)

Dual Relative Pronouns in the Nominative

In Arabic, relative pronouns (words like "who", "which", or "that") must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number. When referring to exactly two people or things, you must use the dual relative pronouns.

If the noun being described is in the nominative case (for example, if it is the subject of the sentence), we use اللذان for masculine pairs and اللتان for feminine pairs. Notice that both end in the standard dual nominative suffix ان.

When talking about two sisters or any feminine pair, the feminine dual relative pronoun is required.

Declension for Accusative and Genitive Cases

While singular and plural relative pronouns in Arabic are fixed and never change their endings, dual relative pronouns decline for case, just like regular dual nouns.

When the noun they refer to is in the accusative case (like a direct object) or the genitive case (like the object of a preposition), the ending changes from ان to ين.

Let's look at the masculine accusative and genitive forms in action. In the first sentence below, the brothers are the direct object of the verb (accusative). In the second, they follow a preposition (genitive). In both scenarios, the pronoun becomes اللذين.

The exact same rule applies to the feminine dual pronoun. It shifts from اللتان to اللتين when the noun it modifies is in the accusative or genitive case.